Not all video games are created equal. Many folks look at video games as a waste of time. Kinetic video games are different. There are a number of benefits that I have gained by using Stealth daily. There are areas of my brain that are becoming more active and I have noticed marked improvement and expansion in my overall brain functioning. Here are five ways that Stealth has improved my mind.
1. Improved Focus, Concentration and Attention: When I started using Stealth I didn’t have control of my body or mind and just did my best to stay on it and blow up planets playing Galaxy Adventure. Within a month, my ability to increase my time and improve my game results grew. I found that I could start to focus and concentrate on the game I was playing. I became better at anticipating patterns and moving more quickly. This translated to higher scores in the games but I also noticed improvements in my ability to focus on tasks in my everyday life. I sometimes feel as if I’m pulled in a million directions at once. I struggle to complete one task before needing or wanting to do another. After using Stealth, I found that I was better able to focus on reading, writing, work, and projects around my home. My attention span and mental clarity have improved. There is so much figurative and literal noise in everyday modern life but my brain is training how to tune out the irrelevant stimuli and focus on succeeding in the task at hand.
2. Improved Spatial Skills and Balance: Holding steady in plank position can be tough. By moving and efficiently using the muscles in my body to accomplish the task on my screen, I taught my brain how to better understand the mechanics of healthy movement. Now, when I move my body, in my everyday life, I find I am doing so much more fluidly. I navigate more easily. I am less clumsy and more able to recover when anything threatens my balance. My mind is one step ahead and my body is more efficient to be able to keep up with it.
3. Improved ability to calm: I am not naturally calm or patient. Getting worked up and agitated while playing Stealth results in lower scores. The steadier I can be, the easier it is to score points. I have learned to try to stay more relaxed by focusing on my breathing and concentrating on the game. Meanwhile my body can maneuver continuously into more comfortable positions. This works especially well during endurance sessions when I am less focused on maximizing my score and more focused on maximizing my time.
4. Improved Precision, Accuracy and Overall Efficiency: with daily use of the games it’s easier to make minute adjustments using smaller movements with a steadier core. The actions on the screen aren’t just theoretical as with many video games. They are driven by my body movement and the more they are practiced and repeated, the better my body gets at them. It’s a more immersive experience than a regular video game. Outside of the game setting my ability to respond accurately has increased. When throwing a ball, or hitting a serve in tennis I can better hit my target because my body and brain have learned how to maximize my accuracy. It’s helped me be a much better overall athlete.
5. Increased Enjoyment of Difficult Tasks: One of the most evident benefits to the Stealth system is the way it has rewired my brain to enjoy something that I found to be torturous before. It doesn’t make planking easy. It still takes effort, work and mental toughness to do. However, my mind learns to focus on a video game I enjoy. I am distracted from the aspects of the exercise that my brain would normally fixate on and dread. This has led to improvements outside of stealth. I seek out new ways of doing difficult tasks by pairing them with more enjoyable ones. I’m enjoying those less enticing aspects of daily life by looking for ways to decrease the suck in each activity, while also maximizing my brain’s ability to learn efficiency.